How does Public Service Loan Forgiveness work?

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is available to borrowers employed by government entities or qualifying not-for-profit organizations, with the opportunity to have Federal Direct Loans forgiven after ten years of qualifying income-driven payments, entirely tax-free. An important aspect of the PSLF program is income-driven repayment (IDR). If you have federal student loans, you will likely qualify for at least one of the government’s Income-driven (IDR) Repayment plans that aim to make borrowers’ monthly student loan payments more manageable based on their discretionary income. These programs include: Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (REPAYE Plan) / Saving on A Valuable Education Plan (SAVE Plan) Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE Plan)* Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR Plan) Income-Contingent Repayment Plan (ICR Plan)** *Only new enrollments from borrowers of consolidated Parent PLUS loans are being accepted into the ICR plan. No change for current enrollees. **New enrollments in PAYE are being accepted until further notice, but this plan will eventually be phased out. No changes for current enrollees. If you’re pursuing forgiveness through the PSLF program, you will need to enroll in one of these plans. For more details on the differences between IDR programs, see our Guide to Federal Student Loan Repayment Programs. An important distinction between the PSLF and IDR programs listed above is that if you’re enrolled in PSLF, you can qualify for forgiveness in ten years rather than the typical 20 to 25 years with IDR. Also note that there are currently proposed changes to the PSLF and IDR programs that could change eligibility, requirements, and potentially the amount of money you could save. Currently, there is a deadline for the one-time account adjustment for eligible IDR borrowers coming up at the end of 2023. Past periods of repayment, deferment, and forbearance may count toward your IDR forgiveness. For eligible borrowers seeking to take advantage of these changes, they must consolidate their commercially managed FFEL, Perkins, or Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) into a Direct Consolidation loan by the end of 2023.

How to apply for Public Service Loan Forgiveness

To pursue and qualify for PSLF, you must provide paperwork, including an Employment Certification Form (ECF) filled out by each eligible employer in your work history. But once you fill out your first ECF, you’re not done. You will need to re-certify your current employment and submit the form at least annually, as recommended by the Office of Student Aid. Note that if you change employers while you’re enrolled in the program, you will need to obtain certification from your new employer and submit the form again.

Is Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) right for me?

If you qualify, taking advantage of the PSLF program potentially means major savings for you, depending on the size of your federal student loans, income, lifestyle, and other personal financial factors. However, getting accepted and staying in compliance over the course of ten years until your forgiveness event takes time, effort, and organization. Changes to program eligibility and IDR requirements that happen periodically in response to economic and political events can be challenging to navigate. Additionally, if you are in a financial position to pay off your student loan debt faster than 10 years, it could be preferable to take that route and save money on interest. Unfortunately, once you’re in the PSLF program, you cannot make extra monthly payments to accelerate your forgiveness event. If you have questions about qualifying for PSLF, a student loan specialist at GradFin can help you understand all your repayment options, and help you determine if PSLF is the right program for you.

What to Know About the PSLF Processing Pause

Processing of all PSLF forms will be suspended from May through July 2024. Here's what you need to know about the transition period as servicing of the PSLF program moves from MOHELA to the Department of Education (ED).

Published April 18, 2024 8 min read

professional woman learning about the PSLF processing pause while she works

What does the processing pause mean for federal borrowers pursuing PSLF?
Why is this transition happening?
What to do if you’re pursuing PSLF

In April 2024, the Department of Education (ED) announced that Federal Student Aid (FSA) will take over processing of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)¹ program from its current servicer, MOHELA, starting in May 2024.

During the transition, processing of all PSLF forms will be suspended for a 3-month “blackout” period from May through July 2024, and MOHELA announced that you will no longer be able to access your PSLF information via your MOHELA account as of May 1, 2024.

Got questions about PSLF?

If you have questions about how the PSLF processing pause and servicing transition will impact you, schedule a free call with one of our student loan specialists here. Our team can help you prepare for the changes and answer any questions you have about your student loans.

What does the processing pause mean for federal borrowers pursuing PSLF?

As the transition of the PSLF program transfers from MOHELA to ED via studentaid.gov, processing for all PSLF forms will be paused May – July 2024.

According to ED, processing pause affects these activities:

PSLF form processing. You can still submit PSLF forms during this period, but they will NOT be processed until after the pause ends.
Payment count updates. Your payment counts WILL NOT be updated during the pause; however, all payments will be reflected on your studentaid.gov account when the pause ends.
Student loan forgiveness. If you happen to reach student loan forgiveness during the pause, you will either be refunded after the pause for any payments made beyond the 120 qualifying payments or you will see your extra payments applied to your other outstanding federal student loans.

Following the pause, borrowers will be able to log in to their studentaid.gov account and find information about all their qualifying payments for PSLF. Learn more at studentaid.gov or schedule a call with a student loan specialist to understand how this change could impact you.

Why is this transition happening?

The FSA is taking over processing of the PSLF program as part of an effort to improve the experience and repayment outcomes for approximately 38 million federal student loan borrowers. According to the FSA, some of the goals they seek to achieve by creating a new loan servicing environment include:

Provide borrowers with a more user-friendly and streamlined web experience
Increase servicer accountability and incentivize more support for at-risk borrowers to reduce loan delinquencies and defaults
Collect better data from student loan servicers to provide improved borrower assistance
Bring student loan servicers up to enhanced cybersecurity standards

What to do if you’re pursuing PSLF

To get ahead of the change, our team recommends that borrowers pursuing PSLF download and save their recent Employment Certification(s), Qualifying Payment information, and Eligible/Ineligible Payments from mohela.com.

To obtain these documents, log in to your mohela.com account, select the PSLF Tab and PSLF Payment Tracking, and save each of these documents as a PDF.

For more support on managing student loan forgiveness programs, like PSLF, schedule a free consultation with one of our specialists, or visit our content collection: How to Get Student Loan Forgiveness.

Beware of student loan scams

Student loan scams tend to surge around student loan-related announcements and changes to federal student loan forgiveness programs. Visit our guide Student Loan Forgiveness Scams and How to Avoid Them to learn how to spot student debt forgiveness fraud.

Recent updates for federal repayment programs.

Learn about the recently announced SAVE repayment plan and what it means for you.

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What to Know About the PSLF Processing Pause

Table of Contents

Got questions about PSLF?

What does the processing pause mean for federal borrowers pursuing PSLF?

Why is this transition happening?

What to do if you’re pursuing PSLF

Beware of student loan scams

Recent updates for federal repayment programs.

Learn about the recently announced SAVE repayment plan and what it means for you.

Guide to Student Loan Repayment

Making the Switch

First-Time Homebuyer Tips

Taking Out a Personal Loan

Student Loan Cashback Calculator

Practical Guide to Financial Independence

Improving Your Credit Score

What to Know About the PSLF Processing Pause

Table of Contents

Got questions about PSLF?

What does the processing pause mean for federal borrowers pursuing PSLF?

Why is this transition happening?

What to do if you’re pursuing PSLF

Beware of student loan scams

Recent updates for federal repayment programs.

Learn about the recently announced SAVE repayment plan and what it means for you.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program Exp...

How to Apply for Student Loan Forgiveness

Student Loan Forgiveness Scams and How to Avoid Th...

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